US bishops call for international solidarity, action in Zimbabwe

Washington D.C., Jun 29, 2005 / 12:00 am (CNA).- The United States bishops have called upon the international community to pressure the government of Zimbabwe to cease brutal treatment of its people.

They have also called upon Zimbabwean authorities to provide the people with urgently needed shelter and food, to facilitate the efforts of humanitarian organizations in these endeavors, and to fully restore the people’s property.

In a statement, dated June 24, the bishops expressed concern over the wholesale destruction of homes and businesses of ordinary people by Zimbabwean authorities in the recent so-called “Operation Restore Order.”

The statement was written by Bishop John Ricard, SSJ, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Policy.

In his statement of solidarity with the bishops of Zimbabwe, Bishop Ricard noted with approval the reported decision of the United Nations to send a special envoy to investigate the situation arising from “Operation Restore Order.”

“We stand in solidarity with the bishops of Zimbabwe in their emphasis of the dignity of the human person that was so crassly violated by the violent conduct of ‘Operation Restore Order,’” he wrote.

“The violence that resulted in the denial of food and shelter is a perversion of governmental authority, since the common good is the reason that political authority exists,” the statement read.